THUNDER BAY — The interim chair of the South Core Business Improvement Area is sticking to his parking guns.
Aldo Ruberto, a longtime former Thunder Bay city councillor, says despite what current McKellar Coun. Brian Hamilton says, there were definitely informal expressions of interest in purchasing the city’s two municipally owned parkades.
Though not at liberty to name names publicly, Ruberto said the city should strongly consider seeking out the private sector to take over the facilities, one located at Victoriaville mall, the other in the city’s downtown north core.
He said there’s just too much money tied up in maintaining the parkades, about $14.5 million over the next several years, and Ruberto thinks it's a big part of the reason the city has started charging for parking at the Marina and well into the evening hours, extending paid parking until 9 p.m. on some city streets.
It’s unnecessary, Ruberto said.
And it’s hurting business, he added.
“To me, it’s ridiculous. From 9 to 5, I’m OK with that, because there are people working downtown so spaces are all taken,” Ruberto said. “I have no problem with that. If they want to increase from 9 to 6, OK. Most people can live with that.”
Ruberto said he was out for a dinner at a southside restaurant and watched other diners scrambling to add parking time on the city’s app, or running out to throw money in meters to avoid getting a costly parking ticket.
“Here you are, you’re having a nice dining experience, and you’re worried about your parking. People don’t want to pay $2, $4. They don’t want to pay extra. They’re paying for their meal, they’re paying for their entertainment, to go out. They don’t want that on their minds.”
Ruberto noted it’s especially egregious outside Fort William Gardens, where he said many hockey attendees are leaving games to find tickets on their vehicles.
“It was a disaster when they came out,” he said.
“There was a mining convention and there were over 40 tickets during that mining convention. It’s disgusting for tourists and people that are visiting us.”
Ruberto is particularly peeved about paid parking at Prince Arthur’s Landing, which he said never was the intention when it was being developed.
It was built for the people, Ruberto said.
“We built the skateboard park to get the kids to come down with their families and have the experience. We built the skating rink and the (splash pad) for the kids. And the key thing about that was we kept the first 65 feet of the waterfront public, for the public, to be free, to be accessible, so they could experience it,” Ruberto said.
Anecdotally, usage of the park has diminished since paid parking was put in place this past June. Ruberto said the city also hasn’t done a great job publicizing that parking is free on Sundays.
Citywide, at the very least, Ruberto said the city should eliminate paid parking on weekends.
And once again, city officials should seek out interest in the parkades, which Ruberto says are in good shape, though he’s not sold on their overall safety.
Parkades are moneymakers in other communities, he said. Why not Thunder Bay?
“Other cities have done it. Every other city with private parkades, they make a killing. We don’t,” said Ruberto, adding private-sector upkeep is almost always less expensive than public-sector upkeep.
